Chinese Cabbage

According to one website baby Ryan now weighs the same as a Chinese cabbage... I don't know how helpful this fact is, but it is an interesting fact none the less. We have hit the third trimester, it goes so slow and so fast at the same time... Everything still looks really good, I am trying to get enough sleep and eat well (easier said then done). Next week I have a glucose test to make sure my blood sugar is ok. I was already hypoglycemic before getting pregnant and now that I am always hungry it is hard to tell when my blood sugar is low or if I could eat a house simply because I am pregnant. Hopefully the test is ok or I will have to give up ice cream for a while and really you don't want to take that away from a pregnant woman.

Baby Shower in Chicago!

This last weekend I went to Chicago where Rachel hosted a baby shower for me! It was great to see everyone; we had a lot of fun. These pictures are courteous of Rachel considering I STILL can't find my camera. But now everyone can see just how big I have gotten.

Me and the hostess with the mostest

Catch phrase... it was an intense game... Very intense. I don't think my team ever won.

Everyone got very cute gifts for baby Ryan.. shown here is the "R" Onsie... this baby is going to be very well dressed. I finally covered my belly in this picture :)

We played the game where everyone guessed how big around I was... EVERYONE guessed bigger... my mom of course thought I was the biggest.

The Girls

Heading to Chicago

We are headed to Chicago today for the baby shower! I think people are going to be pretty surprised to see how big I have gotten. I have lost my camera and no one has seen me for about 2 months. Hopefully I still fit into my coat :)

moving ultrasound

Little clip of the baby moving, at one point he moves his hand down over his mouth.

Patriots

Quick note for all of those of you who are interested:
The Partiots only lost the Superbowl because they couldn't break EVERY record before baby Ryan was born. They had to keep at least one for him to witness with his own eyes.

Handicapped?

Being at a new school I am not always clear as to how to do basic things... like for instance what parking lots my little brown sticker allows me to park in. I was talented enough to actually get 2 parking tickets in one day... That’s right, I was wrong twice in the same day (in a lot I had been parking in all semester). So I went into the parking office to plead for some sort of map so I wasn't parking blindly... this is where the story gets interesting. The woman very kindly gave me a map then said "if you need a handicapped sticker at any point just let us know." I stared dumbfounded, why did this woman think I was handicapped... was I so tired that I was giving off the impression that I was actually handicapped? I didn't realize it had gotten that bad. Then it hit me... she could tell I was pregnant! Needless to say I got out of both of the tickets and I have free access to a handicapped sticker should it come to that.

Pregnancy Pillow, friend or foe?

I bought a pregnancy pillow a while ago after reading all the great recommendations online for them. How could you go wrong, you are snuggled in a human size pillow? You have a place to put your ever growing stomach and you are consumed in your own personal cocoon.
Well I’ll tell you how you go wrong:
1) The pillow takes up the whole bed, poor Don has to cling onto the side of the bed, I can feel him grabbing for the side of the pillow as he tries to avoid crashing to the floor.
2) Have you ever tried to fall asleep while your head is on someone’s leg or arm? Well it isn’t easy, your head is jacked up and you have no personal space… welcome to my life with the pillow except worse because the pillow is on both your front and your back, you can’t get away from it.
3) I have enough trouble turning over with my large stomach… now I am not only turning; I am wrestling with a pillow that is about 2x the size of me.
4)Finally and most frustrating... One morning I found the right position to lay with this pillow… it was SO comfortable, I mean I hit the sweet spot and I didn’t ever want to move. Sounds good huh? Well it isn’t because now I know that spot exists within the pillow, but while I have tried and tried again that spot has remained elusive to me since that day. If I had never found it I would have gotten rid of the pillow, but now I hold out hope… maybe someday not so long from now I will find that sweet spot again and it will make everything worth it.

Now take a look at the picture… doesn’t she look comfortable?

Cutest Baby EVER... I might be biased

Don, my mom, my brother and I went to the doctor today to get a 4D ultrasound. Baby Ryan had hiccups the whole time but still managed to take some good pictures. Right now he is 1.6 pounds (He is getting close to how big his dad was when he was born). We have a few movie clips which I of course can't post but Don said he would when he gets a chance.

He is a real baby now :)

Baby was trying to get away from the ultrasound machine so much that he put both hands and a foot up to block it.

Return to Reality/ Baby Name

We have returned from vacation, I will post pictures and give some details when I get a chance (and find the camera cord).
We have decided on the first name of the baby, the middle name is still in discussion (there are 3 in contention) and the last name is Mason (yes the baby will only have one last name.. he won't take after his mom).
First name is going to be Ryan.

Baby Free Birthday

Today is my last birthday without a baby.. crazy. No, I am not going out to be wild and crazy.. I am in class until 8:30pm then it takes 40 minutes to get home... But Don did wake me up with a very nice breakfast in bed and is taking me on a romantic weekend to a bed and breakfast to the mountains. (My actual gift was him flying up to Chicago last minute during exams last semester to save me from going crazy).

Heading to Chicago

Don and I are going to be in Chicago Friday February 8 through Sunday the 10th. It will be my last flight before the baby. Sort of a crazy thought considering how much I normally fly, but as the third trimester approaches, time to jet set is running out.

Week 23

Bigger and bigger I go... I am going to have to post a picture of me in actual clothes so you can see what it looks like. I am down to two pairs of jeans (maternity) and a lot of sweatpants... I think I might have to go shopping.

Stretchy Mommy

I've started taking prenatal yoga, last night was my first class. It's interesting, I've taken a lot of yoga classes in my life, this one has a different goal. We do a lot of breathing and relaxing, which hey, can you really complain about something like that? It's nice to see where other pregnant people are, it helps to see you aren't as abnormal as you feel. I was suprised to see that I haven't lost that much strength or flexibility and my tummy isn't too much in the way yet. The only issue I had was that I believe I pulled my butt... yes that's right... my butt. It seems to be doing better today. I will keep you updated... I can tell that I am going to have some interesting stories from this class.

Missing: One Normal Mommy

Since discovering that I was pregnant I have had this ongoing fear that I will forget to do something really important BEFORE the birth of the baby only to realize it once the baby is here. For example... let's say I have the baby, I checkout of the hospital everything is good, then I get to the car and realize that I have forgotten to buy a car seat, now I am stuck waiting while I send someone out to go buy one at the closest store... or let's say I do remember to buy a car seat, baby makes it home while on the way falling asleep.. We get home and I realize no crib! Ok well you see my point. So I have started 2 different baby registries, and it is making me feel somewhat better. It gives me a list of everything that we will need; however because of my paranoia I am constantly updating it. The real issue arises with my choice of registries:

(1) Target (http://www.target.com/gp/registry/registry.html/ref=gp_re_registry/601-9220814-9738514?ie=UTF8&sort=taxonomy&type=babyreg&id=1XPIB7KJ66FV7&msgid=&jsebd=1&message=&pageNum=1&view=owner)
(2) Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry.html?ie=UTF8&type=baby&id=2W67EEXBQB0RU).

Now you might ask, what is wrong with these two sites? Nothing if you know what you want... if you don't there is no limit to the amount of things you can find just browsing... I mean really who needs a $17,000 pacifier? (http://www.amazon.com/3ct-Diamond-Pacifier-Pave-Diamonds/dp/B000VG4608/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1199911271&sr=1-1)
Well it certainly keeps me busy (as if I didn't have enough to do with law school). If you happen to look at my registry and see something that is blaringly missing, PLEASE let me know so I don't have to come home to find that I am without it and it is the one and only thing that will stop a baby from crying :)
PS. This whole blogging thing is pretty new to me still so I still haven’t mastered the art of hyperlinks… I swear I am trying :)